Israeli authorities have advanced 11 settlement expansion plans that would add 895 housing units across the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the development on Saturday alongside plans for industrial and commercial projects.
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission stated that the new plans cover several areas. These include Qalqilya, Salfit, Nablus, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, and Hebron, as well as the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the southern West Bank.
The projects extend beyond residential construction to include industrial zones, commercial facilities, roads, and other infrastructure designed to support further settlement growth and accommodate more settlers.
The largest residential expansion involves 288 additional housing units in the Kedumim settlement. This settlement is built on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Kafr Qaddum, located west of Nablus.
Other plans include 225 new units in Beit Hagai, south of Hebron, and 200 units in Talmon, northwest of Ramallah. The commission also identified plans for 98 additional units in Ariel in the Salfit governorate and 83 units in Elon Moreh, near Nablus.
The commission warned that the plans would convert agricultural land and open spaces into residential and industrial areas. This would restrict Palestinian communities’ access to land and opportunities for expansion.
On Tuesday, Israeli rights groups Ir Amim, Bimkom, and Peace Now stated that Israel had rescheduled the opening of bidding for 2,167 housing units in the controversial E1 area to 1 December. A separate tender for another 1,234 units closed for bids on 19 October, and the review was postponed until 19 November.
The rights groups reported that Israeli authorities demolished about half of the structures in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Bir Al-Maskub on 3 November. That demolition displaced around 20 residents in an area designated for the E1 project.
The E1 project envisages 3,401 housing units between East Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. It has drawn international condemnation over concerns that it would fragment Palestinian territory and undermine prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
The United Nations has called on Israel to halt settlement expansion. The UN maintains that the settlements violate international law and threaten the viability of a two-state solution.
